Former The Bachelorette star Ali Fedotowsky is revealing why she left the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, which she had co-hosted with Rachel Lindsay.
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Ali, who starred on The Bachelorette's sixth season, left the podcast shortly after it launched last year and has now been replaced by Season 14 The Bachelorette star Becca Kufrin, which left some fans thinking Ali and Rachel had a falling out.
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But Ali insists her relationship with Rachel had nothing to do with her unexpected and seemingly sudden exit.
"When I decided to do the Bachelor podcast, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm a Super Fan, I'm going to love this! We're going to be set, we're going to talk to all the guests.' And I basically did not realize the time commitment that it was going to take to do it," Ali, 35, told Us Weekly.
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"Some people are like, 'Oh my gosh, did you and Rachel have a falling out?' Absolutely not. Like, Rachel and I are great. There's no problems with me and Rachel. Honestly, it was a time thing."
Ali reportedly explained there was a lot of prep work that went along with the podcast that she had never anticipated when agreeing to take the job. (The podcast launched in July 2019).
Not only did she have to jot down notes while watching episodes of The Bachelor franchise's various shows, but Ali also had to coordinate meeting times with an equally busy Rachel, according to the magazine.
"I thought it was going to be, like, 'Oh! I get to sit and chat for an hour every week, this is going to be so cool and fun!' It just was not that," Ali admitted.
"And it was, like, with my kids, I honestly found... Rachel had so much going on in her life too, and with our two schedules, we were just never lining up. And it was becoming a lot."
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Ali is also a mom to two children -- Molly, 3, and Riley, 19 months -- whom she shares with husband Kevin Manno.
Ali's dedication to the podcast apparently took precious time away from her young kids.
"One day, when I was running out the door to try and get there, literally my daughter was crying. She was like, 'Mommy, stay home with me. I miss seeing you,'" Ali recalled.
"And I just realized, between doing the podcast, and working with Home & Family, and my website, and my photo shoots, and everything else I'm doing, and when I saw Molly like that, I was like... 'Something's got to give.'"
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Ali concluded, "And I was like, 'I need to put my family first, and as fun as this is, I can't take this on right now.'"
Ali, however, said she's glad Becca was able to step in and take her place.
"I am so excited that Becca's doing it now," Ali noted. "I think that's awesome. I think, like, two non-parents would be better to do something like that!"
Becca is currently engaged to her The Bachelorette winner, Garrett Yrigoyen, while Rachel is married to Bryan Abasolo, who won her heart when Rachel starred on The Bachelorette's thirteenth edition.
Kevin proposed marriage to Ali in early September 2015 after the couple had been dating for a little over two years.
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Ali and Kevin welcomed Molly in July 2016 and then tied the knot in March 2017. Ali gave birth to Riley in May 2018.
Her season of The Bachelorette aired in 2010 and ended with the blonde beauty getting engaged to Roberto Martinez in the finale; however, the pair split in November 2011.
Ali first appeared on Jake Pavelka's season of The Bachelor before handing out roses herself.
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